- Programming note: Warriors fans can watch complete Game 3 coverage Thursday on NBC Sports Bay Area, NBCSportsBayArea.com and the NBC Sports app. “Warriors Pregame Live” starts at 6 p.m., followed by Bob Fitzgerald and Kelenna Azubuike on the game broadcast at 7, with “Warriors Postgame Live” and then “Dubs Talk Live” immediately after the game.
SAN FRANCISCO -- As if being without Draymond Green for Game 3 of the Warriors' first-round NBA playoff matchup against the Sacramento Kings wasn't enough, the Warriors also will be without Gary Payton II.
Payton is out with a general illness. He was too sick to practice Wednesday, and won't be at Chase Center on Thursday night with the Warriors already in an 0-2 hole.
His absence will be a big one, too. Payton has been a key player off the bench in the first two games of the series, averaging 26.3 minutes a night. He has averaged 10.5 points while shooting 69.2 percent from the field and 40 percent on 3-pointers.
More importantly, the Warriors now are down their two best defenders. Payton swiped two steals in each game and has averaged 5.0 rebounds. He had the best defensive rating of any Warrior in Game 1, and the second-best in Game 2.
Role players already were going to have to step up due to Green's suspension for his Game 2 incident with Kings star center Domantas Sabonis. The pressure now increases on players like Jonathan Kuminga, Donte DiVincenzo, Moses Moody and JaMychal Green.
Thursday night will be the first time in the Draymond, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson era that the Warriors enter Game 3 of a playoff series trailing two-games-to-none. Unprecedented territory just became that much tougher.
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"It's new territory for us," Steve Kerr said during his pregame press conference. "I think our guys look at it as a challenge and as an opportunity. They've accomplished so much over the years. The fact that we haven't been down 2-0, to be honest, is in and of itself a pretty amazing accomplishment in a decade of playoff run to never be down 2-0.
"We've been down 3-1 before. Our guys have been through everything. It's a great challenge for us and I think we are excited for the challenge."
Does this new wrinkle make the challenge of facing the Kings without Green and Payton too much to withstand? If so, the Warriors will be one loss away from the season ending in a hurry.
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But if they can overcome yet another obstacle, the defending champions somehow will be right back in this best-of-seven series.